Scientific Conference

Language Theory and Practice

SIGITA STANKEVIČIENĖ

Kaunas University of Technology

On November 20, 2009, a scientific conference, “Language Theory and Practice,” organized by the Department of Linguistics of the Faculty of Humanities at Kaunas University of Technology, was held. The aim of the conference, organized traditionally every two years, is to bring together linguists, localization specialists, terminologists, terminology managers, translation theorists, translators, and editors to share scholarly insights and practical experience, and to promote interdisciplinary dialogue and cooperation among representatives of various branches of linguistics and other fields. Presenters from 11 institutions took part in the conference, delivering 45 papers in Lithuanian, English, German, and Russian.

The conference was opened and participants were welcomed by Jurgita Mikelionienė, Head of the Department of Linguistics, and Audra Daubarienė, Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Humanities. Two papers presented at the plenary session reflected the conference’s main themes: the first addressed issues in translation, while the second dealt with terminology and language technology. Violeta Kalėdaitė, Associate Professor in the Department of English Philology at Vytautas Magnus University, in her paper Preserving and Adapting Cultural Realia in English Translations of K. Donelaitis’s “The Seasons” examined the dilemma facing translators: how much cultural color to preserve in translation so that it would not be overly exotic and would remain understandable to people from other cultures. Erika Rimkutė, Associate Professor in the Department of Lithuanian Language and Researcher at the Centre of Computational Linguistics at Vytautas Magnus University, delivered a paper entitled Possibilities for the Automatic Identification of Lithuanian Terms, in which she reviewed research already conducted in this field in Lithuania and abroad and discussed electronic terminology resources. The presenter also introduced an experimental corpus of education and science terminology, from which terms had been automatically extracted, and discussed the stages and tools involved in term recognition, as well as the difficulties encountered. E. Rimkutė emphasized that automatic term identification, although more time-consuming than manual identification, is more objective and helps identify frequently used stable expressions,

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that are not defined as terms but can be considered terms because of their frequent use. Moreover, when a corpus is available, concordances of the words or phrases being analyzed can be compiled and searched for terms, revealing a detailed context that makes it easier to define terms objectively.

After the plenary session, conference participants continued their work in three sections. The meeting of the third section was devoted to terminology, and five papers were presented. V i l i j a C e l i e š i e n ė (Kaunas University of Technology), in her paper Synonymy among Computer Science Terms of Different Origins, examined changes in synonymy in computer science terminology and analyzed synonym sets of terms of different origins in the two editions (2005 and 2008) of V. Dagienė, G. Grigas, and T. Jevsikova’s Encyclopedic Dictionary of Computer Science. She found that the dictionaries in both editions favor borrowed terms: there are slightly fewer synonym sets headed by Lithuanian terms. A comparison of the two editions suggests that the number of synonym sets in computer science terminology did not decrease over the intervening years. Some synonymous terms in the second edition had no synonyms in the earlier edition. In addition, some synonym sets headed by Lithuanian terms gave way to borrowed terms. Cases were also observed in which synonyms were not linked: terms that had previously been synonymous were presented as separate terms in the new edition.

The competition between native and borrowed terms was also examined by V i r g i - n i j a S t a n k e v i č i e n ė (Kaunas University of Technology) in her paper Lithuanian and International Terms in Radioelectronics Terminology. The presenter analyzed synonymous terms included in the five-language Dictionary of Radioelectronics Terms, published in 2000, which contains many multiword terms provided in Lithuanian for the first time. She sought to determine what trends characterize the compilation of new dictionaries and whether the native language is treated as a priority when creating new terms and revising existing ones.

A u š r a R i m k u t ė (Institute of the Lithuanian Language), in her paper On Some Problems in Managing the Terminology of Manuscripts for General Education and Vocational Education and Training Textbooks, discussed the most common terminology shortcomings in textbook manuscripts. Textbook evaluations revealed that manuscripts use outdated terms because authors do not consult the latest terminology dictionaries in the relevant fields. Textbook compilers quite often fail to comply with the requirement to indicate stress for all terms presented in the text or in an accompanying glossary with definitions. Most errors are in term formation. Important requirements for terms—brevity and precision—are overlooked. Although both synonyms and variants of terms are undesirable in terminology, textbook

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they are used in manuscripts. Lithuanian and international terms are mostly used synonymously. Preference should be given to Lithuanian terms.

Solveiga Sprindienė (Lithuanian National Library), in her presentation Concerns about the Professional Language of Restorers, regretted that Lithuanian terminology for document restoration remains poorly standardized and that professional terms are in short supply. The speaker identified the main shortcomings of restorers’ language: many Russianisms, Germanisms, and Polonisms dating from the Soviet years are used, and since independence, Anglicisms have also appeared; Lithuanian terms are lacking, restorers coin unmotivated, odd terms and even use dialect words; many synonymous terms are used because each restoration department develops its own professional vocabulary. The speaker emphasized that restorers had discussed the need to approve restoration terms (and, where these are lacking, to create new ones) at more than one conference. The terminology standards issued by the Lithuanian Standards Board, LST ISO 4046:2007 Paper, board, pulp and related terms (Parts 2–5) and LST ISO 5127:2008 Information and documentation. Vocabulary, filled only a small part of the gaps in restorers’ professional language.

The aim of Birutė Briaukienė’s (Kaunas University of Medicine) presentation, Some Aspects of Students’ Attitudes toward the Language of Their Specialization, was to explore how students at Kaunas University of Medicine evaluate their own language and that of their instructors; to find out what students expect to learn while studying the language of their specialization; and to establish whether students’ language changed after taking the course. The questionnaire data show that students’ attitudes toward their own language did not differ significantly at the beginning and end of the course, while they tended to evaluate their instructors’ language more negatively at the end than at the beginning. In addition, the hypothesis that students’ linguistic competence improves after studying the language of their specialization was confirmed.

Related issues in terminology were also addressed in other section sessions. The second section, on language technologies and contrastive linguistics, discussed linguistic terminology. In their presentation The Expression of Morphological Multiword Units in Lithuanian, Jolanta Kovalevskaitė and Erika Rimkutė (Vytautas Magnus University) argued that a contrastive study of morphological multiword units had revealed the need to refine the linguistic terms denoting such units and to establish the relationship among the terms samplaikinis, sudėtinis, sudurtinis, suaug(t)inis. The speakers proposed expanding the existing definition of a morphological multiword unit, so that it would encompass not only a set phrase consisting of two or more words, but also fused words. Hans-Harry Drößiger (Vilnius

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University) examined the problem of equivalence between German and Lithuanian linguistic terms. According to the speaker, some linguistic terms should be considered culture-specific concepts, as they denote phenomena characteristic of only one particular language. The issue of using and translating these terms arises when writing contrastive and comparative linguistic studies.

At the first section session, devoted to specialized translation, three presentations were given on terms as units of translation. Problems of terminological equivalence and competition between native-language and international terms in translated texts are especially important for translators of technical and other specialized texts. Violeta Janulevičienė and Sigita Rackevičienė (Mykolas Romeris University) examined issues in translating criminal law terms from English into Lithuanian, including differences in the formal structure and semantics of terms arising from distinct traditions of term formation. Comparing 30 pairs of terms consisting of names of criminal offences in two legal systems (Lithuania and England and Wales), the speakers found that the formation of both simple and compound terms differs. Most English simple terms are compound words, whereas Lithuanian predominantly uses deverbal suffixal nouns. Lithuanian legal language does not shy away from long compound terms with three or more levels of dependency, while English compound terms are shorter and have a simpler formal structure. Studies of terminological semantics show that only a small number of the terms examined can be considered exact equivalents. Most are only partial equivalents, referring to criminal offences that are similar in only some respects. Aušra Stepanovienė (Mykolas Romeris University) also discussed the difficulties of translating legal terms in her presentation Some Features of Legal Language Translation. Its author drew attention to the problem of translating semi-terms. In her presentation Problems in Translating Medical Equipment Instructions, Janina Liutukaitė (Vytautas Magnus University) examined the translation of English phrases that have acquired terminological status into Lithuanian. The speaker noted that many such phrases are being translated into Lithuanian for the first time and have no approved equivalents, resulting in errors.

Presentations in the other sessions of all three sections examined various issues in translating fiction, children’s literature, and specialized texts; presented contrastive studies at various levels of language; considered problems of intercultural communication and language contact; and devoted considerable attention to language use in electronic discourse and to language technologies.

A collection of conference presentation abstracts was published.

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The scientific conference “Language Theory and Practice” was beneficial not only to scholars and lecturers but also to students of Technical Language Translation and Editing at the Faculty of Humanities of the university that organized the conference.

Received 2009-12-15

Sigita Stankevičienė Kauno technologijos universitetas Gedimino g. 43, LT-44240 Kaunas E. paštas: [email protected]

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